John Moffitt returns to lineup, but not to right guard

Guard John Moffitt returned to the starting lineup for the Seahawks, but it wasn't on the side nor was it the way anyone expected.

Moffitt played right guard in his previous 11 games for Seattle, but he started at left guard on Sunday. He was called on to replace James Carpenter, who was ruled out with a concussion on Saturday after Seattle spent several days trying to figure just what was bothering him, keeping him out of Friday's practice.

"He might have had a concussion issue," coach Pete Carroll said of Carpenter's situation. "He also took a flu shot. We were treating him for being sick to his stomach and stuff. So we weren't quite sure, and at the end of the week we just ruled him out with concussion symptoms. We had to play it safe."

Moffitt had played left guard in college, but not since Seattle drafted him out of Washington in the third round last year. Moffitt was active for the first time in more than a month as he missed the past five games with a knee injury.

Paul McQuistan started the past five games at right guard, but played left guard the first three games while Carpenter was out. Ultimately, Carroll decided to leave McQuistan on the right side.

"We didn't want to move two guys," Carroll said. "We wanted to see if John could hold up on the left side and leave Paul where he prepared to play."

How did Moffitt feel about his first game back?

"I felt good," Moffitt said. "Obviously there were certain things I felt I could have improved upon and some things were just knocking the rust off on certain blocks. I think overall, it was a good start."

As for Carpenter's status heading into next week?

"I'm glad we held him out," Carroll said. "We'll figure it out -- what it is -- by next week and see where it stands."